Directions to trail head

Drive west of Calgary on Highway #1 approximately 60 kilometres. Turn south on highway #40 and drive 50 kilometres. At the intersection of highway #40 and Kananaskis Lakes Trail turn right (west) onto Kananaskis Lakes Trail and drive approximately 2.3 kilometres and turn right again onto highway #742 (the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail). Drive 18 kilometres to the Chester Lake Parking Lot.
The other option is to leave from Canmore and drive south on Highway #742 approximately 45 kilometres to the Chester Lake Parking Lot.

Hazards on trail

Water. I used Garmin Mapsource during this hike and to generate the topographical map. You cannot trust that the location of the boundaries of the lake or creek are accurate. Be cautious near the water.

Hike Description

The Chester Lake (above) Snowshoe Trail is well marked. Both the trailhead and waypoint #002 is on the Chester Lake hiking trail. The snowshoe trail leaves this path at waypoint #003. The snowshoe trail is marked with little florescent signs with snowshoe prints on them. This trail is very popular. For the most part when hiking this winter in Kananaskis I probably never saw more than 5 or 6 people on any given trail. On this trail I probably saw at least 20 people.

The GPS track for this hike can be downloaded via the file attached to this post. Go to the "About" page for directions prior to download or use of this data. Please submit your feedback and let me know your thoughts on the hike. If you have the the GPS data for other hikes in Alberta please send it along with a couple pictures to chris[at]hikealberta[dot]com.

Hike Photos

Elevation Profile Image

Legal

Use Hike Descriptions at your own risk. The accuracy of the information is not guaranteed. Natural hazards, sudden changes in weather, animals, trail conditions, and numerous other factors add varying degrees of risk to hiking. Take emergency equipment, a map, bear mace and do not take on a trail beyond your abilities. You are responsible for your own safety.